SPECIAL FEATURE: FLIGHT

www.iop.org/journals/physed
Gas turbine technology
Peter Spittle
Rolls-Royce plc, Ansty, Coventry CV7 9JR, UK
E-mail: peter.spittle@rolls-royce.com
Abstract
Gas turbine engines power most commercial ights operating today. Yet
many people are ignorant of the cutting-edge technologies used in the
creation and operation of these engines. This article explains some of the
principles involved with emphasis on the selection of materials for fan
blades and turbine blades, which have to operate reliably in exceedingly
hostile environments.
(Some gures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)
Simple theory, outstanding performance
The number of commercial ights has escalated
rapidly since the middle of the last century:
currently it is believed that as many as three
million people may be in the air at any given
moment. Clearly ight is a technology that
we have all embraced and are happy to exploit.
The ease and efciency of transport over large
distances, combined with the unrivalled levels of
safetywithinthe industrywhencomparedwithany
other mode of transport, give air travel a distinct
advantage. On the safety front, recent US gures
actually show that you are twice as likely to die
as a result of an incident involving an animal-
drawn carriage as opposed to an aircraft. These
factsand perhaps the exhilaration experienced
during ightmean that it has become common
practice for us to climb aboard 100 tonnes of
complex machinery and intricate electronics in
an understandable effort to experience faraway
destinations.
However, once seated in a cosy window or
aisle seat, already wondering what delights will
lie below the foil wrappings of the in-ight meal,
it surprises me how little thought people generally
give to the technology that they are relying on.
There seems to be little attention given to the
30 000 components hanging together under the
wing that propel us upwards and onwards, and
to the fact that a decent proportion of these
components are operating above their melting
point (I based this on personal experience of
passengers I have sat next to and chatted with, and
perhaps left slightly scared and bewildered).
When boarding the aeroplane the only part
of the engine clearly visible is the fan set. I am
sure most people climb aboard without a glance in
the engines direction, yet the fan blades are not
components that should be disregarded in blas
fashion. At full speed the 3 m diameter array
rotates at 3300 rpm, and if a blade were released
it would have enough kinetic energy to launch a
small car over a seven-storey building. I have
own eight times within the last year and on each
and every occasion I marvel at the performance
of the engines and airframes. It is amazing to me
that the sensation of acceleration we experience,
as the 100 tonnes of aeroplane reaches almost
300 kmh
1
in under 20 seconds, is generated by
only two engines that are simply throwing hot air
backwards at high speed.
During these moments at take-off I usually
experience a strange mental confrontation: like
many people there is always a small sense of
unease and a heightened awareness of strange
noises and cabin movement. However, it is
about then that I remind myself of the sound
504 PHYS I CS EDUCATI ON 38 (6) 0031-9120/03/060504+08$30.00 2003 IOP Publishing Ltd
Gas turbine technology
























Fan low pressure
compressor
50 to 40 C
8 stage intermediate
pressure compressor
50 300 C
6 stage high pressure
compressor
300 650 C
Combustion
chamber
2000 C
Turbine: -
HP 1 stage - 1500 C
IP 1stage - 1200 C
LP 5 stage - 900 C
Cold bypass air
Figure 1. The principle of gas turbine operation: suck, squeeze, bang, blow.
engineering and unshakeable physical principles
that support this undertaking. Having worked
within Rolls-Royce, and fortunately spent time
within various departments (stress, thermals,
materials and ling
1
, design etc), I have gained
an appreciation of the engineering effort, in
terms of performance, safety and reliability, that
supports the nine tonnes of rotating machinery
below the wing, and am as a result always
condent and happy to be onboard.
As suggested above, the fact that we nowtake
ight for granted has only come to pass due to
the continued drive of aero-engine manufacturers
to improve engine performance. Over time there
have been very clear trends in improved engine
efciency, power and safety, all achieved at a
relatively low cost to you the traveller. Within
the following paragraphs I hope to briey describe
to you the workings of this simple machine, and
discuss some of the technology and ingenuity that
successfully drive it millions of miles a year.
Suck, squeeze, bang, blow
The principle of gas turbine operation is relatively
simple (gure 1):
Suck: air is sucked in through the fan at the
front of the engine
1
The term ling refers to the analysis of a materials fatigue
properties, and the determination of a cyclic life (cycles to
failure) when it is subjected to a given alternating stress level.
Squeeze: the air is then squeezed to many
times atmospheric pressure
Bang: within the combustion chamber fuel
is mixed with the air and is ignited
Blow: the hot air expands and is blown out
of the rear of the engine.
Sir Frank Whittle designed and built the rst
jet engine in 1941. Because of their major
advantages in terms of power, efciency at high
speed and simplicity, jet engines rapidly became
the preferred option for air travel. Rolls-Royce has
had many rsts within the commercial gas turbine
industry since Whittles innovation, a trend that we
maintain to this day. For example, Rolls-Royce
produced the Dart, the rst gas turbine in civil
ight, and the Conway, the rst Bypass engine.
Our current products include the Trent series
of gas turbinesengines that incorporate many
cutting-edge technologies and that have become
synonymous with reliability and efciency. The
RB211familyof engines (the RB211-524Gis used
to power the Boeing 747, and is the precursor to
the Trent family) has accumulated over 75 million
hours of ying, a gure that equates to more than
46 billion km, or ying to the sun and back over
150 times. The Trent has helped us to secure
a large proportion of new engine sales, and as
such Rolls-Royce is nowrecognized as the second
biggest aero-engine manufacturer, and currently
lists 38of the top50airlines amongst its customers.
November 2003 PHYS I CS EDUCATI ON 505
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1
2
3
Figure 2. Rolls-Royce three-shaft engine conguration.
The Trent engine is a three-shaft engine
(gures 2 and 3), a systemthat allows the designer
to more efciently match the thermodynamic and
aerodynamic requirements throughout the engine.
This is a signicant stepfromthe two-shaft engines
originallyemployedbyRolls-Royce andwhichare
still designed by our competitors. From gure 2
one can see that there are three systems:
The low pressure system (one compressor
stage, the fan, driven by ve turbine stages).
The intermediate pressure system (eight
compressor stages driven by one turbine
stage).
The high-pressure system (six compressor
stages driven by a single turbine stage).
Within the gas turbines generally seen on
Airbuses and Boeings, the expanding hot gases
provide only a small fraction of the engine thrust.
In gures 2 and 3 one can see that the gas is passed
through various stages of blading. Firstly, air that
is pulled in by the fan through the core of the
engine is compressed by the intermediate and high
pressure compressor blades. After fuel injection
and ignition the expanding gas exits the engine
through various sets of turbine blades. These
blades are turned (like the sails on a windmill) and,
in turn, they rotate the fan and compressor blades
at the front via shafts that pass through the centre
of the engine. As such, it is the turbine blades that
Figure 3. The Trent 500 engine, four of which are
used on the Airbus A340.
turn the fan, which pulls the air through to develop
the thrust. I mentioned the core of the engine
previously to emphasize the distinction between
this region and the bypass air (gure 1). In reality
only about a quarter of the air pulled through the
fan enters the core of the engine: the remaining
cold air is thrown backwards, around the outside
of the core to develop the majority of the engines
thrust (see gure 1).
The choice betweena bypass anda turbojet
(in which 100% of thrust is developed through
the core of the engine) conguration is mainly
a function of desired engine efciency and
manoeuvrability. High bypass ratio engines
are desired for commercial travel to maximize
efciency (see box): high jet velocity and
506 PHYS I CS EDUCATI ON November 2003
Gas turbine technology
High by-pass or turbojet?
To understand this statement we may consider
the ux of momentum entering and leaving the
engine, and a general equation that denes its
efciency.
Flux of momentum entering the engine
= m
air
V
Flux of momentum leaving the engine
= ( m
air
+ m
f
)V
jet
where m
air
is the mass ow of air, V is the
velocity of air entering the engine, m
f
is the
mass ow of fuel and V
j
is the velocity of air
leaving the engine.
Thus the net thrust, F
N
, that is available in
ight is given by the difference between the two
momentum uxes, that is
F
N
= ( m
air
+ m
f
)V
jet
m
air
V.
This equation tells us that for a high net thrust
there must be either a high jet velocity, V
j
, or a
large mass ow, m
air
.
Propulsive efciency compares the rate of
work done on the aircraft to the rate of kinetic
energy increase of the ow through the engine.
It may be approximated for the typical case
when the mass ow (of fuel) is much smaller
than that of the air, by [1]

p
=
2V
V + V
j
.
From this second equation we can see that
propulsive efciency (and therefore net engine
efciency) is maximized if the jet velocity,
V
j
, is minimized. Therefore if we wish to
maximize efciency (i.e. low V
j
) but maintain
thrust (F
N
) we must maximize the mass ow
of air through the engine. Therefore we
want high bypass engines for commercial and
freight air travel.
manoeuvrability are not required because a large
proportion of time is spent at a single altitude
and speed. Military applications, however, will
use turbojet type engines, such as the Olympus
(Concorde) and the Pegasus (Harrier), because
they desire many rapid changes in power, attitude
and speed and care a little less about propulsive
efciency. However, as for many things in life,
the decision on engine design is not necessarily as
cut and dried as suggested above, but is a trade-off
between many interacting parameters.
Although large bypass engines are efcient
there are some tangible negatives. They are heavy
bits of kit that provide considerable drag, and cost
an appreciable amount of money to purchase and
maintain. Furthermore, not all military aircraft
scream around the skies at maximum power all
day long: many military jets that spend signicant
amounts of time cruising around, needing a
little extra only for the occasional chase, are
usually equipped with low bypass engines. Fuel
consumption is important to the military, not for
cost, but for reasons of range and weapon load
capability.
As a metallurgist I am concerned with
optimizing materials to meet the various stringent
requirements of the engine. Clearly the conditions
vary dramatically throughout the engine, but
there are at least a couple of underlying driving
forces when choosing the material to do the
job: weight and cost. It would be ideal to
construct everything from a cheap material such
as steel. However, with a density of 7.6 g cm
3
,
employing steel, as a compressor disc material
for example, would cost appreciably more in
Figure 4. A Trent 800 fan set comprising 25 blades.
The fan has a diameter of approximately 3 m and the
mass ow of air through the engine is approximately
72 tonnes/min, or 1.2 tonnes/second.
November 2003 PHYS I CS EDUCATI ON 507
P Spittle
1.
2. 3.
4. 5. 6.











Figure 5. Trent fan blade production. Left: a six-step breakdown of wide-chord fan blade production for the
Trent engines using the DB-SPF technique. The fan blades for the Trent engines are manufactured from three
sheets of titanium (1). The two outer sheets will form the aerodynamic surfaces of the blade and the thicker root
section. The middle, thinner, sheet will form the WarrenGirder structure internally, providing the blade
stiffness and impact resistance required. Once the pack of three plates has been formed a masking pattern is
painted onto the internal faces of the outer plates (2). The plates are then re-stacked, with a small tube attached to
the end, welded together around the edge, evacuated and heated above 950

C (3). At this temperature diffusion
occurs across the metallic surfaces in intimate contact within the pack and at its edges. Thus, after heat treatment
the three plates are now a single unit. The pack is then shaped into its approximate aerofoil morphology (4),
before it is inated (5). To enable ination the component is re-heated above 900

C and argon gas is injected, at
pressure, through the tube. After ination the aerofoil cross section seen in images 5 and 6 is created. The girder
conguration is developed because diffusion bonding is unable to occur across the masked regions, and these
unbonded areas are expanded during argon injection.
Right: stage 4 being completed. The operators are removing the shaped, diffusion-bonded pack from a
furnace at 950

C.
terms of fuel consumption than the current option
and would impart signicantly higher stresses on
itself and the surrounding structures. Conversely
magnesium- or aluminium-based alloys might
be an ideal option with regard to weight, but
given their relatively low tensile properties and
a propensity to become liquid around 660

C (a
temperature encountered within the high pressure
compressor section), they are not necessarily
the metals of choice. The following sections
detail two components that are key to efcient
engine operation, and demonstrate the efforts
made to maximize performance through material,
chemistry, design and manufacture.
The fan blade
The fan blade sees temperatures from ambient to
50

C (at cruise altitude), rotation at 3300 rpm
with a tip speed of 1730 kmh
1
, and a centripetal
force through its root equivalent to 900 kN (a
gure usually quoted by the airline pamphlets
as equivalent to the weight of 13 African bull
elephants). Furthermore, this component must
last for 80 million km (10 000 ights), displaying
sufcient exibility and damage tolerance to
continue uninhibited operation within wind, rain,
snow and the occasional bird impact. All of
these parameters are met by a single piece of
metal about 10 kg in mass, approximately 1.0 m
high by 0.4 m wide (gure 4). In this instance
a titanium alloy is usedtitanium 6/4 (titanium
+ 6% aluminium + 4% vanadium)a material
that meets the mechanical requirements stipulated
above, with the minimum mass possible (density
about 4.5 g cm
3
).
In addition, this material has the special
properties necessary to incorporate the required
complexity during the manufacture of the
component. In an effort to achieve the
blade stiffness required at minimum mass Rolls-
Royce has developed a unique hollow fan blade
(gures 4 and 5). This structure proffers a
signicant weight saving (50%) over the solid
blade alternatives, reducing the engines specic
fuel consumption, thereby saving the airlines
money. The internal structure of this blade can
only be manufactured, with sufcient integrity,
using the diffusion bonding, super-plastic forming
508 PHYS I CS EDUCATI ON November 2003
Gas turbine technology
Trent
RB211-524G/H
RB211-535E4
RB211-624B4
RB211-524G2
RB211-22C
Spey
Conway
Avon
Dart
Derwent
Whittle
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
T
u
r
b
i
n
e
e
n
t
r
y
t
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
(

C
)
Year
Figure 6. Development of turbine entry temperature (TET) with time.
(DB-SPF) technique (gure 5). Production of
these components is an exacting and onerous task,
one that Rolls-Royce has met by constructing a
purpose-built facility for the job, a facility that
maintains a cleanliness regime beyond that of the
electronics/microchip industry.
Cleanliness during production is key because
of the stress raising effects that impurities and
foreign particulates would have within the internal
structure of the blade. Such point defects could
initiate a fatigue crack that may propagate to
failure under service conditions. When we
consider the kinetic energy of a fan blade released
at maximum revolution (remember the scenario
of a small car launched very high. . . ) it can be
seen that the expense of such a clean facility is
a necessary one. On this front, however, we can
be reassured that extensive testing and modelling
has been completed to demonstrate that, if such
an event were to occur, the engine shrouds and
casings would not be compromised and no high
energy debris would exit the engine. Indeed the
aviation authorities demand that a complete engine
blade off test is completed for all new engine
projectsnecessary, but a multi-million pound
engine is t for little else afterwards. To complete
this test a small explosive charge is attached to the
root of one fan blade within the set. Then, once
the engine has been powered up to full speed, the
charge is detonated and the blade released. High
speed cameras lm the event from a variety of
positions andhelptodemonstrate that, apart froma
large ame and some lowenergy material, nothing
is released fromthe engine that might compromise
an airframes integrity.
Turbine blades
A second key area of expertise for Rolls-Royce
is within its turbine blade manufacturing facility.
As stated earlier, there has been a clear trend in
improved engine performance with time. In an
effort to improve efciencies, weight must be shed
from the construction and operating temperature
must be increased.
From the graph in gure 6 it can be seen
that within 60 years the temperature of the gas
Temperature
S
p
e
c
i
f
i
c

s
t
r
e
n
g
t
h
Nickel
alloy
Steel
Aluminium
alloy
Titanium alloy
Figure 7. Specic strength versus temperature for a
variety of common aero-engine materials.
November 2003 PHYS I CS EDUCATI ON 509
P Spittle
(a) (b)
Multipass
cooling air
+
thermal barrier
coating
Multipass
cooling air

1
1
5

m
m

Figure 8. Gas temperature: (a) 1425

C, (b) >1550

C.
leaving the combustion chamber and passing over
the high pressure turbine blades, i.e. the turbine
entry temperature (TET), has risen by nearly
800

C. To accommodate this advance signicant
changes have been made to the components
design, material and structure. Because of the
high temperatures involved turbine blades are
manufactured from nickel-based alloys. Figure 7
highlights how well nickel alloys maintain their
mechanical properties withincreasingtemperature
when compared with the alternatives. This
curve takes account of the materials density, and
indicates that even though nickel is practically
twice as dense as titanium (about 8.4 g cm
3

contrary to the requirements to reduce engine

weight) it is the only material that retains sufcient
integrity at high temperature. Indeed standard
titanium alloys must be avoided towards the hot
end of the aero-engine, not only because of
their diminishing properties, but also because at
temperatures in excess of 600

C, and under
friction, they can rapidly ignite and burn aggres-
sively, covering the rearward stages in molten
metal.
The turbine blades see the most aggressive
conditions within the engine, but as with all
components, they must readily deliver efcient
performance, whilst incurring minimal overhaul
and repair costs. The blades that Rolls-Royce
currently manufactures can withstand a tempera-
ture of about 1550

C, rotate at 10 000 rpm, remove

560 kW each from the gas stream (slightly better
than your average Ford Focus) and last up to
5 000 000 ying miles.
Figure 8 demonstrates a couple of the
technological advances that Rolls-Royce has
employed in its successful turbine blade design
and material denition, thereby allowing it to
employ a TET above the melting point of the
alloy (TET > 1500

C, alloy melting point
about 1350

C). The key advances have been
the manufacture of single-crystal blades, with
internal cooling channels, and, latterly, thermal
barrier coatings. Cooler air (air at 700

C) is
bled off from the compressor and passed through
the turbine blades. Small laser-drilled holes in
the surface of the blade allow the cooler air to
ow over the working surfaces, protecting them
from the hot gas stream. In a later development
ceramic materials have been deposited onto the
blade surfaces, further protecting them from the
aggressive environment and allowing yet higher
TETs to be achieved.
At high temperatures the major component
failure mechanism is creep, i.e. over time under
high temperatures and loads the blade will deform,
lengthen and rupture. The creep mechanisms and
elongation to failure are caused by atommigration
and diffusion. A key path for this atom movement
is along grain boundaries (these are areas of lattice
discontinuities and therefore a relative increase in
space). Thus, by removing this easy diffusion path
510 PHYS I CS EDUCATI ON November 2003
Gas turbine technology
Aluminium
Titanium
Steel
Nickel
Figure 9. Engine materials.
for the atoms by developing single-crystal blades,
we increase the creep strength of the material.
This is a process requiring exact casting conditions
and ingenious mould designs. The mould design
must ensure that only a single grain, in a preferred
crystallographic orientation, is allowed to grow.
Overview
One can see that throughout this conceptually
simple machine the engine manufacturer has
worked strenuously to maximize the potential
of each component. The result is a machine
combining a fantastic array of materials that
generates the maximum performance at minimum
weight with the current technology. Figure 9 is a
general arrangement of a Trent engine that depicts
the range of materials employed.
Materials technology continues to drive
further advancements in aero-engine performance.
There are additional innovations that cannot
be included in current designs because of the
prohibitive cost, both internally and to the
airlines. Major improvements will probably result
from material development, towards lighter and
stronger materials. Innovations such as metal
matrix composites and engineering ceramics are
a real source of interest and continued research
and development. In addition, research into burn-
resistant titanium alloys, allowing them to be used
further into the hot end of the engine, and nickel
alloy compositions will further rene the engines
performance. During your next ight it is worth
spending a moment to appreciate the cutting-edge
technology that is sending you skywards, and to
feel safe and contented that it is a technology
backed by excellent know-how and millions of
miles of experience.
Acknowledgments
D Rugg, P Withey, C Hanley and C Woodward.
Received 4 June 2003
PII: S0031-9120(03)64371-6
Reference
[1] Cumpsty N 2003 Jet Propulsion (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press)
Peter Spittle is a Materials Technologist
at Rolls-Royce. He joined as a graduate
trainee in 1999 with a degree in
Materials Science and Technology from
the University of Birmingham. Since
completing his training period he has
worked as a Materials Technologist
within the aero-engine business and as a
Core Metallurgist within Rolls-Royces
naval marine business, supporting the
design and manufacture of reactors for
the UKs nuclear submarine eet.
November 2003 PHYS I CS EDUCATI ON 511